GEORGE TOWN – Police scored a major success against the mat rempit (street racers) activities here with the detention of 200 riders and their supporters who were caught red handed while preparing to race illegally along the Tun Dr Lim Chong Eu Expressway.
Weeks of intelligence gathering helped police to place strategic roadblocks and their pre-dawn crackdown surprised the racers who were in the midst of getting ready to race.
Unlike previous operations, this latest one yielded one of the largest number of mat rempit and unlike the previous ones, the riders this time had nowhere to flee.
All major access roads were cordoned off by the traffic police in the operation, which began around 3am today.
Northeast district police head Soffian Santong said the operation early today was part of their Op Bersepadu (Op Samseng Jalanan).
“The riders were nabbed around the E-Gate area, Lebuh Tunku Kudin, Gelugor here.
“The group consisting of 180 males and 20 females were caught within the expressway.”
Earlier, police acting on leads began to deploy plainclothes officers to monitor the movements of the mat rempit.
“We found that a group of motorcyclists had gathered at the E-Gate area to race. We then surrounded it by 3am,” he said in a statement.
Some racers tried to escape through the parking area of the Lotus hypermarket and neighbouring buildings but the dragnet was tight, so they had no place to flee, he said.
The motorcyclists were then brought to the district police headquarters where 126 were issued with traffic summonses while one was detained for using a fake number plate. – The Vibes, October 8, 2023
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